India-US trade deal: first tranche finalised, now in legal drafting, says Piyush Goyal

India and the United States have finalised the first tranche of their proposed Bilateral Trade Agreement, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, adding that the text is now going through legal drafting and a final review.

Goyal made the remarks in New Delhi at the inauguration of the Shri Ram College of Commerce centenary conclave. He said he hoped the agreement could be completed and brought into force soon, once India secures a competitive edge over rival exporting countries in the US market.

No signing date yet

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal told reporters that the talks were moving in the right direction and that the two sides were in what he called "a very good zone." He said the agreement would be signed at a time agreed by both governments, after Washington settles its overall tariff structure.

According to reports by ANI and India TV, Agrawal said parallel work is under way in the US, including the outcome of investigations under Section 301 of American trade law. India's central demand is preferential market access, meaning tariff rates that are better than those offered to its competitors under the new US tariff framework.

The framework for the first tranche was announced in February, but changes to US tariffs since then required further rounds of negotiation. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had described the talks as having reached a plateau, with limited room for further concessions.

Trade still growing

Official commerce ministry data cited in the reports show that India's merchandise exports to the US rose 11.1 per cent to about $50.8 billion in April-September 2026, compared with about $45.7 billion a year earlier. Imports from the US grew faster, by about 26 per cent to $32.3 billion, which narrowed India's trade surplus with the US to roughly $18.5 billion. The US remained India's largest export destination in the first half of the financial year.

Separately, Goyal said the India-European Union free trade agreement is expected to be signed in December and could take effect in February or March next year.

Why it matters for India

The US is the single biggest market for Indian goods, and sectors such as textiles, engineering goods, gems and jewellery and pharmaceuticals are sensitive to even small differences in tariff rates. A deal that gives Indian exporters better terms than competing Asian suppliers could support jobs and export earnings. Until the text is signed and the US tariff picture is clear, however, exporters face continued uncertainty about the rates they will pay.